Ray Wood Injured and Out of NEF X; Lemke-Ortolani Bumped Up to Main Event

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Lewiston, Maine (August 28, 2013) – New England Fights MMA (NEF MMA) tonight announced that Maine State Featherweight Champion Ray Wood (4-0) is injured and unable to defend his title on September 21 against Joe Pingitore (4-0-1).  The bout was the scheduled main event of the promotion's NEF X event at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston.

"It's disappointing, because it had all the promise of a great fight, but injuries are part of the game," said NEF MMA co-owner and promoter Nick DiSalvo when reached for comment.  "The Wood-Pingitore fight will happen in the future.  When exactly that will be depends on the extent of Ray's injury and a recovery timeframe.  NEF wishes Ray a speedy recovery, and we look forward to seeing him back in the cage soon."

NEF MMA executives would not comment on the specifics of Wood's injury. DiSalvo did, however, go on to say that the co-main event bout between Jon Lemke (3-1) and John Ortolani (7-7) for the vacant Maine State Lightweight Championship would be bumped to the main event slot.  In addition, a featured welterweight contest between Jarod Lawton (3-1) and Leon Davis (4-2) would be moved into the co-main event position.

“NEF X” is scheduled to take place on Saturday, September 21, 2013 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, Maine.  Tickets start at just $25 and are on sale now at www.TheColisee.com.   The card will feature a 155-pound bout between Jon Lemke (3-1) and John Ortolani (7-7) to fill the recently vacated Maine State Lightweight Championship. For more information on the event and the full fight card, please visit the promotion's website atwww.NewEnglandFights.com.  In addition, you can watch NEF MMA videos at www.youtube.com/NEFMMA, follow them on Twitter @nefights and join the official Facebook group “New England Fights.”

About New England Fights

New England Fights Mixed Martial Arts (“NEF MMA”) is a Mixed Martial Arts promotions company. NEF MMA’s mission is to create the highest quality events for Maine’s fighters and fans alike. NEF MMA’s executive team has extensive experience in combat sports management, events production, media relations, marketing, legal and advertising.

NEF MMA Announces Full Fight Card for September 21's NEF X Event

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Lewiston, Maine (August 22, 2013) - New England Fights Mixed Martial Arts (NEF MMA) today announced the full fight card for the fight promotion's September 21 event.  Entitled "NEF X," the event will mark NEF MMA's return to the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston and the third and final event of the mixed martial arts promotions “Summer Vacationland Fight Tour.”

"It feels good to be going back home," said NEF MMA promoter and co-owner Nick DiSalvo.  "We took the show on the road with events in Bangor and Biddeford and now we're back in Lewiston.  I personally can't wait to get back in the Colisee to present our biggest and best card to date."

NEF MMA went out of its way in putting the fight card together for its fans. Known for marathon-length shows, and wanting to do something special for its tenth-anniversary event, the fight promotion made 35 fights for the card, including 14 professional bouts.

"Like we do with every card, we wanted to really give the fans as much action as we could for their dollar," stated NEF matchmaker and co-owner Matt Peterson. "In this economy, people work hard for their money and we want to give them as much great entertainment as possible with tickets marked low.  From top to bottom, this is the most well-matched card we've put on to date.  Any fan of MMA in Maine, or anywhere in New England for that matter, won't want to miss this show."

The top of the card is headlined by two title fights. The first fight features Bucksport's Ray “All Business” Wood (4-0) defending his Maine State MMA Featherweight Title against fellow undefeated 145-pound competitor Joe Pingitore (4-0-1) of Rhode Island.  In the second title fight, to fill the vacant Maine State MMA Lightweight Championship, Jon Lemke (3-1), based out of Marcus Davis's Team Irish, will meet Massachusetts native and professional lacrosse player John Ortolani (7-7).

In other feature bouts on the pro-side of the card: UFC veteran and recent contestant on The Ultimate Fighter, Jimmy Quinlan (3-1), will see action against the ever-popular Luc Bondole (2-0) in a Middleweight contest; Jarod "Last Minute" Lawton (3-1) of Augusta brings his full arsenal of submissions to the cage when he takes on Leon Davis (4-2) in the Welterweight division; and featherweights Damon Owens (1-0) and Josh Parker (4-6) will square off.

The full fight card (subject to change and subject to approval of the Combat Sports Authority of Maine):

PROFESSIONAL

145 *Title Ray Wood 4-0 (Young’s MMA) vs Joe Pingitore 4-0-1 (New England Combat)

155*Title John Ortolani 7-7 (Team Triumph) vs Jon Lemke 3-1 (Team Irish)

185 Mike Zichelle 4-3 (Team Triumph) vs Jason Anderson 11-30 (A&S Fight Team)

185 Jimmy Quinlan 3-1 (Mass BJJ) vs Luc Bondole 2-0 (Team Fink)

170 Jarod Lawton 3-1 (Innovative Athletics BJJ) vs Leon Davis 4-2 (Fighting Arts Academy)

170 Ryan Sanders 4-4 (Young’s MMA) vs Rashuan Spencer 4-4 (First Coast Full Contact)

170 Ryan Cowette 0-1 (MMAAthletix) vs Mike Hurlburt 0-2 (Team Triumph BJJ)

155 Jesse Erickson 1-1 (CMBJJ) vs Babatunde Odumosu 0-1 (Sila Voli)

145 John Raio 0-4 (First Class Fight Team) vs Asa Zorn 0-3 (Hard Knocks Gym)

145 Josh Parker 4-6 (Independent) vs Damon Owens 1-0 (Young's MMA)

145 Bruce Boyington 3-5 (Young’s MMA) vs Walter Smith Cotito 1-2 (Team Triumph)

130 Tommy Balzano 1-1 (Team Irish) vs Jovan White 0-3 (First Coast Full Contact)

125 Ernesto Ornelas 1-3 (Choi’s) vs Theo Desjardin 3-7 (Team United Muay Lao)

265 Jason Dolloff 6-17 (Anger Management) vs TBD

AMATEUR

265 Kevin Smith 2-1 (Young’s MMA) vs Ray Miclette 1-0 (New England Combat)

265 Josh Parr 0-1 (Independent) vs Dan Randell 0-0 (Fighting Arts Academy)

205 Jeremy Stevens 1-0 (Sipayik Boxing Club) vs Matt Coolidge 0-0 (CMBJJ)

195 Ramon Saintville 2-0 (CMBJJ) vs Dan Connaughton 1-0 (Defensive Edge)

185 Mike Vangelist 0-0 (AMMA) vs Kyle Gauthier 0-0 (Team Lysak’s MMA)

175 Crowsneck Boutin 3-4 (Choi Institute) vs CJ Ewer 2-0 (Young’s MMA)

170 Brandon Traknis 0-1 (Independent) vs Nash Roy 0-0 (Young’s MMA)

170 Greg Morse 2-1 (Team Irish) vs Nick Alley 1-0 (Team Link Hooksett)

155 Dom Cofone 4-1 (Balanced Ground) vs Mark Graham 3-1 (First Coast Full Contact)

155 Jeremy Tyler 1-1 (Team Irish) vs Shawn Bang 1-0 (CMBJJ)

155 Jarrod Tyler 0-1 (Team Irish) vs Nate Charles 1-5 (Balanced Ground MMA)

155 Chris Ouellette 1-0 (Team Irish) vs Trevor Roberts 0-0 (CMBJJ)

150 Corey Hinkley 0-1 (CMBJJ) vs Zach Labbay 1-2 (Team Irish)

145 Drew Waltz 1-3 (Young’s MMA) vs Charlie Stambach 1-0 (Team Irish)

145 Caleb Costello 0-2 (Team Irish) vs Anthony Parker 0-0 (Team Nitemare)

140 Nick Spencer 3-3 (Choi Institute) vs Alex Clark 2-0 (CMBJJ)

140 Matt Denning 2-2 (CMBJJ) vs Cody Sargent 1-3 (Balanced Ground MMA)

135 Erik Nelson 1-1 (CMBJJ) vs Jay Perrin 3-1 (Team Triumph)

125 Jason Bell 0-0 (IABJJ) vs John Parker 0-2 (Team Nitemare)

125 Dustin Veinott 0-1 (CMBJJ) vs Mike Brown 1-0 (Independent)

125 Norman Fox 1-0 (MMA Athletix) vs Nick Mancione 1-1 (Fighting Arts Academy)

“NEF X” is scheduled to take place on Saturday, September 21, 2013 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, Maine.  Tickets start at just $25 and are on sale now at  www.TheColisee.com.   The card will feature Maine State Featherweight Champion Ray "All Business" Wood (4-0) defending his title against Rhode Island's Joe Pingitore (4-0-1). Also scheduled is a 155-pound bout between Jon Lemke (3-1) and John Ortolani (7-7) to fill the recently vacated Maine State Lightweight Championship.  For more information on this and past events, please visit the promotion's website at www.NewEnglandFights.com.  In addition, you can watch NEF videos at www.youtube.com/NEFMMA, follow them on Twitter @nefights and join the official Facebook group “New England Fights.”

About New England Fights Mixed Martial Arts

New England Fights Mixed Martial Arts (“NEF MMA”) is a fight promotions company.  NEF MMA's mission is to create the highest quality events for fighters and fans alike.  NEF MMA's executive team has extensive experience in combat sports management, events production, media relations, marketing, legal and advertising.

After a Six-Month Absence, Ryan Sanders Looking Forward to Return to the Cage at NEF X

"All successful people learn that success is buried on the other side of frustration. Unfortunately, some people don’t get to the other side… They allow frustration to keep them from taking the necessary actions that would support them in achieving their desire. You get through this roadblock by plowing through frustration, taking each setback as feedback you can learn from, and pushing ahead.” ~ Tony Robbins, motivational speaker

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Lewiston, Maine (August 16, 2013) – Ryan Sanders (4-4) has every right to be frustrated.  After starting his professional fight career at 4-1, Sanders would drop his next three in a row. Losses, however, are part of the game.  Any athlete will tell you that.  You play, you lose, and you go on to play another day.  Being forced to sit on the sidelines, unable to quench the competitive thirst, on the other hand, is a position that no sportsperson, nor any professional individual for that matter, wants to be in.  There could be nothing more frustrating.  Through no fault of his own, Ryan Sanders will have been on those sidelines for six months by the time he returns to the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) cage onSeptember 21 in Lewiston.

On March 21 of this year, Sanders dropped his Bellator debut to Michael "Venom" Page (5-0).  Eager to once again climb into the cage with the prospect of getting back on the winning track, the Brewer, Maine resident immediately began preparing for a comeback performance at New England Fights Mixed Martial Arts' (NEF MMA) May 18 event.  Those hopes were derailed shortly thereafter when Sanders was issued a 60-day suspension from the Combat Sports Authority of Maine (CSAM) based on the knock-out loss suffered by the welterweight in the Page fight.

Unfortunately, that would not be the last roadblock Ryan Sanders would face on his return trip to the cage.  Never one to back down from a challenge, Sanders signed to face tough New Jersey fighter Manny Walo (3-1) at NEF MMA's "Nations Collide: Canadian Invasion."  Not only would the fight be Sanders' long-awaited return to competition, but it would also be taking place in Bangor, the first MMA event ever to be held in the Queen City, right in Sanders' backyard.  After months of training in preparation for the fight, disappointment struck once again.  The morning of weigh-ins, NEF MMA matchmaker and co-owner Matt Peterson received a call from Walo's manager informing him that Walo could not make weight and would not be making the trip to Maine from New Jersey.  Hours of pleading and promises to make concessions to Walo's camp from both NEF MMA executives and Young's MMA (Sanders' team) fell on deaf ears.  Sanders was once again forced to watch from the sidelines while his teammates competed on their home turf.

"As frustrating as that was for us as a promotion, I can't even begin to imagine how frustrating that must have been for Ryan," said Peterson.  "To put all that time into training and preparing mentally and cutting weight, and then to be told the morning of weigh-ins that your opponent decided not to make the trip... it's heartbreaking."

Rather than let frustration get the better of him, Sanders went back to the gym and trained harder than ever.  Opportunity knocked in the form of Josh Montoro (2-2) out of First Coast Full Contact in Jacksonville, FL.  That fight was signed this week and will be one of the feature bouts of NEF X onSeptember 21 in Lewiston.

"I'm excited for this fight," said Sanders when reached for comment.  "I've been training harder than ever for this fight.  I'm looking forward to fighting in Lewiston and getting back to winning.  I'm gonna take him down and work my ground game until I submit him."

"It's good to have 'The' Ryan Sanders back," stated NEF MMA promoter and co-owner Nick DiSalvo.  "He headlined three NEF events in 2012.  He was a fixture in the early days of this promotion, and the last few events without him have felt like there was a big piece of NEF missing."

When the cage door closes behind him on September 21 in Lewiston, NEF X will be Ryan Sanders' time to "plow through frustration," and "push ahead." On the other side of frustration, success is waiting for him.

“NEF X” is scheduled to take place on Saturday, September 21, 2013 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, Maine.  Tickets start at just $25 and are on sale now at  www.TheColisee.com.   The card will feature Maine State Featherweight Champion Ray "All Business" Wood (4-0) defending his title against Rhode Island's Joe Pingitore (4-0-1). Also scheduled is a 155-pound bout between Jon Lemke (3-1) and John Ortolani (7-7) to fill the recently vacated Maine State Lightweight Championship.  For more information on this and past events, please visit the promotion's website at www.NewEnglandFights.com.  In addition, you can watch NEF videos at www.youtube.com/NEFMMA, follow them on Twitter @nefights and join the official Facebook group “New England Fights.”

About New England Fights Mixed Martial Arts

New England Fights Mixed Martial Arts (“NEF MMA”) is a fight promotions company.  NEF MMA's mission is to create the highest quality events for fighters and fans alike.  NEF MMA's executive team has extensive experience in combat sports management, events production, media relations, marketing, legal and advertising.

WOOD SET TO DEFEND TITLE AGAINST PINGITORE SEPTEMBER 21

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Rumford, Maine (July 18, 2013) – “All Business” Ray Wood (4-0) is already back at work fresh off of capturing the first-ever Maine State MMA Featherweight Championship last Friday night in Bangor, Maine. New England Fights (NEF) announced today that Wood is scheduled to defend his title at NEF X on September 21^st, 2013 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, Maine.

“Ray Wood is on his way to becoming the most active winning fighter in the Northeast this year,” stated NEF co-owner and promoter Nick DiSalvo. “After securing the 145-pound championship less than a week ago, Wood was immediately asking Matt [Peterson, NEF matchmaker] what was next. Ray’s performances in the cage reflect clarity of purpose—he knows what he wants to do with his life; he’s committed to remaining undefeated and finishing fights. He has that championship mentality.”

Ray Wood amassed a 5-1 amateur record, earned the ranking of the number one featherweight in the Northeast and was selected as the “2012 Amateur Fighter of the Year” before turning professional last November. The lone blemish on Wood’s amateur record was a decision loss against Shane Manley that occurred over a year ago when Wood was forced to bump up in weight after failing to find opponents willing to face him at his natural weight class of featherweight. Since turning pro, Wood has achieved a perfect 4-0 record by scoring wins over worthy opponents such as Ahsan Abdulla (5-3) and most recently Lenny Wheeler (6-3) for the championship. Wood has stopped all four of his opponents as a professional.

Wood is set to defend his Featherweight Championship against top ranked and fellow undefeated fighter Joe “Lights Out” Pingitore (4-0-1) out of New England Combat (NEC) in Rhode Island. Since he began competing over three years ago, Pingitore gained a reputation for his conditioning and devastating knockout power. Pingitore and Wood share a win over Ahsan Abdulla. Pingitore jumped at the opportunity to face Wood in his home state and isn’t intimidated by the idea of stepping into the cage against an opponent who many pundits have named the next big thing.

“I want to see if the Ray Wood hype is real,” stated Pingitore when reached for comment. “I’m not driving six hours just to get in a fight—I’m driving six hours to go to war and come home with a belt, or in a body bag, if necessary.”

“Winning the Maine State MMA Featherweight title in my hometown was an honor,” stated Wood when reached for comment. “However, defending the title in Lewiston against ‘Lights Out’ will certainly be a privilege. He’s a well-rounded fighter with good striking ability and I have yet to face a good, solid striker. I see this fight being a fast-paced, standup war. I can guarantee it will be the fight-of-the-night so get your tickets now.”

“Ray Wood and Joe Ping are at the perfect points in their careers to face one another,” stated NEF co-owner and matchmaker Matt Peterson. “Both fighters are young, athletic and focused. Their records are virtually identical. The winner of this fight should be included in the final-four discussion for the top slots in the ultra-competitive northeast featherweight division, without a doubt. As fans, we can expect a high-level, technical showing from these two adept 145-pound fighters on September 21^st.”

NEF X is scheduled to take place on Saturday, September 21, 2013 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, Maine.  Tickets start at just $25 and are on sale now at www.TheColisee.com.

New England Fights! presents its next mixed-martial arts event onAugust 3, 2013 in Biddeford, Maine at the Biddeford Ice Arena. Tickets start at $20 and are on sale now at www.newenglandfights.com.  You can watch NEF videos at www.youtube.com/NEFMMA, follow them on Twitter @nefights and join the official Facebook group “New England Fights.”

About New England Fights

New England Fights! (“NEF!”) is a Mixed Martial Arts promotions company. NEF’s mission is to create the highest quality events for Maine’s fighters and fans alike. NEF!’s executive team has extensive experience in combat sports management, events production, media relations, marketing, legal and advertising.